About last night …

Your Montreal Canadiens won game 7.
Even better, the Boston Bruins lost.
Hockey fans can look forward to an Eastern Conference final that doesn’t include Brad Marchand’s stick work or Claude Julien’s whining.
Bonus: The most annoying fans in the NHL can spend the rest of this spring watching their Red Sox.
Meanwhile, 500 km north of the dark and lonely TD Garden, the playoffs continue.
And it’s beginning to smell a little like 1993.

One note before we bid a not-so-fond farewell to Bruins: Milan Lucic talked smack to Dale Weise and Alexei Emelin in the handshake line. He reportedly told Weise: “I’m going to fucking kill you next year.”

“We just beat the best team in the league,” the coach added. “We showed a lot of character and a lot of passion.”

When someone asked Therrien about the pump-up speech Carey Price gave his teammates between the second and third periods, the coach sheepishly admitted he’d missed it. But the dressing room oratory, Therrien said, was evidence of Price’s leadership.

To update a stat cited in the live game blog, Price has played in five elimination games in 2014: three at the Sochi Olympics, plus Games 6 and 7 against Boston. He’s faced 127 shots and stopped 125 of them.

Price under pressure: 5-0, with a goals-against average of 0.40 and a save percentage of .984.

Yeah, pretty good goaltending. And having beaten Tuukka rask, Price moves on to face Henrik Lundqvist in a duel of goaltenders who were snubbed as Vezina Trophy finalists. Lundqvist hasn’t won in Montreal since March 17, 2009. He is 4-5-2 with a 3.87 GAA and .876 save percentage lifetime at Bell Centre.

The Rangers series will also be a battle of number 67s: Max Pacioretty vs. former Canadien (and Bruin) Benoit Pouliot.

Plus the class of the undersized old guys, Brian Gionta vs. Martin St. Louis.

Oh, the Eastern Conference final is going to be fun – not least because the Canadiens and Rangers are fast, skilled teams that stick to hockey. We may see Brandon Prust and Derek Dorsett joust a bit, but George Parros won’t be needed in the series.

Nor will Douglas Murray. Nathan Beaulieu has played two NHL playoff games and won them both. He should be in the lineup against the Rangers, along with his D partner Mike Weaver, who was heroic in the Boston series.

Therrien praised the work ethic and attitude of his team in Game 7. The Canadiens were outshot 30-18 and territorially dominated for agonizingly long stretches of the game. But they didn’t panic , and the only mental error was Max Pacioretty holding Dougie Hamilton’s stick in the Bruins’ zone, drawing a penalty during which Jarome Iginla deflected a Torey Krug shot past Price to make it a 2-1 game.

With a chance to seize momentum, however, the Bruins took a penalty late in the second period and another in the third, setting up the Daniel Brière goal that drove a dagger into their season.

The latter infraction was Johnny Boychuk’s interference on Michäel Bournival, a kid whose speed bedevilled Boston. early in the series, Bournival also got in a good whack on Zdeno Chara’s hand. The Bruins’ defenceman rarely flashed his Norris Trophy finalist form thereafter.

With Dennis Seidenberg out of the lineup and Chara playing hurt, Boston was left with a young, inexperienced defence corps that had a very difficult time coping with the Canadiens’ speed and forechecking tenacity – both qualities showcased on the Brandon Prust and Daniel Brière plays that produced the game’s first goal.

It was scored by Dale Weise. The late-season acquisition – Thank you, John Tortorella, for not liking this guy – has scored three times in the playoffs; and the Canadiens have won each game.

Marc Bergevin was in the hallway leading to the dressing room after the game. The jubilant general manager hugged each player as he came off the ice.

Bergevin has a right to celebrate. In the second year of this proud franchise’s latest rebuild, the Canadiens are among the Final Four vying for the Stanley Cup.

Beating the Rangers won’t be easy. They’re a fast, talented and well-coached team.

Lundqvist was spectacular against Pittsburgh. St. Louis is inspirational. And McDonagh …

Ah, why spoil a warm, happy mid-May day in Montreal by thinking about Ryan McDonagh – except to say if he were paired with P.K. …

OK, I’ll stop.

A happier note: On L’Antichambre, Vincent Damphousse said this year’s postseason is starting to remind him of 1993.

The Penguins, led by Sidney Crosby, are out – as were Mario Lemieux’s Pittsburgh team in ’93. Ditto the Bruins, who had Raymond Bourque then and Chara now.

Can Carey Price duplicate Patrick Roy’s 1993 heroics?

At least he’ll get a chance to try.

• A not from my man Mike Ziegler: Danny Briere had 2 points tonight on 9 shifts (8:06 TOI). That’s a point on 22% of his shifts. Also has 7 points in 5 career game 7s, and has a 4-1 record.

503 Comments

Putting aside the euphoria of winning the series, I believe that yesterdays game was Therrien”s worst coached game of the playoffs so far.

Once again it proves that coach cam make can make many bad decisions and yet hos team can still win.

Where should I start?

Briere, a history if playoff and game seven heroics, is relegated to the 4th line with Prust and Weise, Despite scoring the all important first goal 27 seconds in to their first shift of the game, the line played only one other shift together for a total TOI of 1 minute and 6 seconds the entire game.

Plekanec played 2:12 with Briere”s wingers, Prust and Wiese, twice as much ice time with the 4th line wingers as Briere had.

Apparently Therrien feels that Briere is a defensive liability, and cannot be trusted to play at even strength when the team has a lead. Does anyone care to guess who has been our during the playoffs this year? Briere has played a total of 82 minutes of even strength playoff hockey and has been on for exactly one opposition Goal and 4 Habs goals.

Plekanec has played 181 minutes and been on for 11 opposition goals and 7 Habs goals. Is there any reason that Plekanec should be “double shifted” and take ice time away from Briere?

I bet many people did not realize that Subban played only two shifts in the last 8 and a half minutes of the second period, after the Habs took a 2-0 lead. One was a 22 second shift and the other came AFTER the Bruins scored a PP goal to make it 2-1.

(Gorges , Markov and Weaver played 6 shifts in that span between the Habs taking a 2-0 lead and Boston making it 2-1, Emelin played 4 shifts while Beaulieu and Subban appeared twice each).

Back to Briere, I wonder how he felt in the third period having had only one shift lasting 6 seconds prior to being called upon for the second wave of the PP with 3 and 1/2 minutes to play. despite having been tied to the bench for the entire 3rd period and having only two shifts in the second, somehow he managed to score the all important insurance goal making it 3-1. The announcers claimed it was a “lucky” goal an attempted pass that deflected off Chara skate and into the net. Personally, I believe that Briere was trying to bank it in off Chara”s skate as there was no one in the area to pass to.

Lets look at Vanek. When he first arrived he made it clear that he preferred playing left wing. In order to fit him into Therriens first line with DD and Pacioretty, he was inserted on the left wing and for the final stretch of the regular season they made up arguably the best forward line in hockey.

After a few games without offensive results the line wassplit up and Gallagher was reinserted back on the right wing beside DD and Patches. My question is once Vanek was removed from the top line, why not put him back on the left wing? Its one thing to have him relinquish his preferred position for Pacioretty, a 39 goal scorer but for Bournival? Bournival is a centerman, and would probably play just as well on either wing.
Surprisingly to most who had not been familiar with Vanek, he was not only a sniper but a great passer and playmaker. Is it really the best spot for him to be paired with Plekanec and Bournival? Yesterday after not playing with DD and Patches for the entire series with the bruins, Vanek played 5 minutes with Plek and Bournival, and 5 minute with DD and Pacioretty.

I will admit that I did not think the Habs would beat the Bruins in the series, Not because I thought we COULD not beat them, but because I thought we would have to utilize our best players to their maximum efficiency to win. It seems that I was wrong, Despite the fact that the Habs (because of Therrien) did NOT optimize their line up, line combos, and personnel/ ice time deployment the HAbs stillmanaged to beat the Bruins.

Lets talk about Bournival and Weise for that matter, towards the end of the regular season, everyone watching could tell that Bournival and Weise were both extrenely facst skaters and effective players deserving of more ice time , or at least a regular shift. BOurnival , time and again was either out of the lineuo or played 6 to 8 minutes a gam, Instead of recognizing teh need for speed and youthful exuberance and giving these players every opportunity to contribute and get the necessary experience in the regular season they were held back give very little opportunity.
Come playoff time, Bournival is suddenly a top 6 player getting top 6 minutes, and Weise does nothing but score important goals.

If there ever was a case for a team winning despite their coach, this is certainly it. Now, To be fair, Therrie, does bring some positive attributes to the team, and that should not go unrecognized. He is responsible for bringing a winning spirit, a team first attitude, and getting his players to believe they could win. That being said, if he doesn”t start making better personnel decisions and smarter ice time distribution, the team will be knocked out of the playoffs. NOT because the opponents are betterm but because he is not coaching in a way that maximizes his own teams strengths and potential.

With Price in the nets the personnel on this team is as good or better than any team in the east, and could even surprise the squad that represents the western conference ion the stanley cup finals.

Hopefully, but I doubt it, For the Rangers series Therrien will come to his senses and rotate four optimized lines:

I would like to see:

either
67-51-11
48-14-21
20-81-17
8- 49- 22

or

67-51- 20
48-14-21
17-81-11
8- 49- 22

Without any doubt Beaulieu must play and get a regular shift against the rangers.

If it is deemed that Murrays toughness and grit is required he should replace Weaver and play next to Beaulieu.

Murray can only play IF he is paired with Beaulieu who’s speed can make up for Murray,s lack of skating ability,

Finally, how can anyone respect a coach who plays Douglas Murray on the second shift in sudden death overtime, yet refuse to give a regular shift to Beaulieu even when the team is leading by multiple goals?

The fact that Therrien has no concern with playing Murray when the game is on the line, even in overtime , knowing that the team almost never scores when Murray is on the ice but refuses to play a far superior player like Beaulieu on a semi-regular basis even when the team is leading is ridiculous.

He wasn’t shoehorned on the right side immediately on the David Desharnais line, he actually played two or three games on the left with Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta. When they failed to produce and find chemistry, then he was switched to right wing on the Desharnais line.

Michel Therrien was quite open about his usage. He stated that he first met with him after the trade, asked him what he thought suited him best, what he preferred, and tried to accommodate him. When he felt he needed to make a change, he met with Thomas again, and explained his decision, and asked him to give right wing on David’s line a try.

Thomas Vanek said in interviews that’s essentially what happened, and that with the initial results with David and Max, he was fine with it.

I feel the series was summed up when Marchand took a jab at Pleks jaw when they were in the faceoff circle, in front of the linesmen. Pleks had the class to look at him and laugh, basically saying “this is the best you got ?”. From that moment on I knew the good karma would bring home the victory !!!

The Bruins may be the better team on paper and in the regular season, but we played better as a team when it counted. To a man, we were focused on one thing – winning. The attitude was businesslike and professional; pre-game comments were brief and to the point, everyone’s attention was on the immediate task, celebrations after goals and victories were muted.

For the Bruins, the focus seemed more blurred, concentration less absolute. P.K. said, and other Habs implied, that there was a lack of respect for their opponents among the Bruins. At times this lack of respect was palpable, as when Shawn Thornton sprayed P.K. with water as he skated by the Bruins’ bench, or when Milan Lucic flexed his biceps from the bench, or, most egregiously, when this same Lucic actually threatened Dale Weise in the handshake lineup.

Perhaps the Bruins shared the opinion expressed earlier in the season by one of the Boston Globe sports writers, Dan Shaughnessy I think, to the effect that the Habs are “a dirty, despicable, little team.” Even more than “despicable,” the adjective “little” in this context denotes contempt. This attitude seemed to undermine the Bruins’ concentration and distract them into subordinating team play to their personal agendas like retaliation and cheap shots.

I doubt if any of the Bruins thought for one moment that they would lose the series. Even after our masterful performance on Monday night, a performance that was a statement that we are a true contender and are not far off being as elite as they are, they were unconcerned. They shrugged off their failure to close out the series when they had a chance and were certain they would win Game seven. Maybe over-confidence as well as lack of respect played into their downfall.

Another thing. The Bruins may have more muscle, more size, and a bit more talent on their roster, but I think we have the higher hockey intelligence, and I think it showed in this series. We consistently made better decisions with the puck and better use of our chances than they did.

This is a great feeling. Part of me feels like the Rangers have the same cinderella type story as the Habs had in 2010. The goalie carrying the load and making big saves, while the team in front scored opportunistic goals to win games. I also think the Rangers will have a fatigue factor considering how much hockey they have played in the last month.

With all that said, it’s going to be a great series and the Habs have a chance to make it far. I was only 10 when we won the cup in 92/93, and now I have moved out West. I wish I could be back home with all my fellow Habs fans enjoying this moment, so do not take it for granted. I am looking at tickets to Montreal for two weeks from now, who knows I might join you all.

As much as I love Bournival, once Galchenyuk is healthy and fit, I think he has to draw into the second line. I think some are forgetting how much talent Galchenyuk has and he seems like someone who could potentiallly really click with Vanek. If Bournival was on the 4th line, I would probably leave him there over Galchenyuk, but for 2nd line duty it seems like a no brainer to me.

The first game will be tough to get back to playoff game speed and intensity, but I think Galchenyuk has to play.

It depends on how he has recovered. His in jury is very difficult to recover from MENTALLY. The player often doesn´t fully trust his knee for months following even a mild strain.
If Galchenyuk is 90% ready both physically and mentally, yes, he deserves to be in the lineup.
But I would probably take out Bourque for him prior to Bournival, if Borky has another quiet first game. I would even consider taking out Prusty, unless he can play like last game and do so for more than 8-9 minutes.
I know Bournival is an exciting player to watch skate, but he doesn´t get any points. He does not have the natural hockey sense that Galchenyuk has.
If Chucky is healthy by game 3 or 4 I would put him in, if not, stay with Mikael.

Regarding the differences between this last series win and the 2010 run, the only thing that I miss is the sniper capabilty of Cammalleri.
We’re stronger everywhere else.
Halak was,well, Halakian but he was never all-world like Price.
Plus we haven’t got Gomez

____________________________________________________
“You are not T.J. Oshie. Do not shoot pucks at people without a helmet.”.

I think it could be that, I also think he could be a fellow who isn’t all that stable and plays on a team that seems to like unstable players. That the organization of the Bruins continues to enjoy fostering the image of big and bad (dirty and cheap) speaks volumes to me.

I am sure I will get lectured now on all the other arc angels playing for the Bruins, but they have loved the image they have created of themselves. And many Bruins fans i know love that image, and think their brand of hockey is good tough, Canadian hockey.

Lucic indeed has some issues it appears, whether it is PED related I have no idea.

This morning when it was ‘my turn’ the system indicated that two of the available levels still had 2-seat sets available, but no matter how many times I hit ‘find tickets’, I was always told there were none. Got the same nonsense even when I tried single tickets, or split sets of two.

Ok, first attempt. At HiB’s suggestion, I’m going to post a few times over the coming days in an attempt to get some game 2 tickets from a holder who can’t go.

The story:

My (pregnant!) wife and her family are all Rangers fans. I live and work in Nunavut, but am home in Ontario for 2 weeks, and the hockey gods have smiled upon me. I happen to be here, with Montreal in the conference finals, against the Rangers. My wife is on board with going, and I need to find a pair of seats, but only game 2 works. I struck out earlier at the presale, and foresee myself striking out again with the general sale.

If any ticket holders out there in HiO-land are interested in selling a pair of seats at something resembling face value, respond here, or send me an email, which I’m doing my (likely futile) best to hide from the spam-bots:

If you get a chance, listen to the podcast of Marinaro’s show today. It should be available toward the end of the day. He’s on with the guys from WEEI radio in Boston from 10:30 to 11:00. Some people can’t stand the guy but there’s no denying he loves his Habs. Prepare to laugh!

Yep. Great depth and character on this squad. I wouldn’t have said both about any of the lineups in the last 20-ish years.

Their playoff wins in the recent past always seemed lucky. This is different. If a player goes down? I’m not worried, plenty on the bench who can contribute (thank you, MB)

Timo used to have fun cracking-wise about the Habs’ ineptitude. And he was right, and it was funny. But he doesn’t have much comedy to provide recently. Not because Timo isn’t funny, but because this time, there’s little to laugh about. Our bench isn’t a laughing-stock.

Regardless of the Rangers’ outcome, I know they are going to give it everything. Next series should be a lot of fun.

Feels way different. Last time, I felt the the Habs had a tiger by the tail and were hanging on for dear life against Pittsburgh and Washington. The Markov injury was also a huge deflating blow, and the loss to Philly seemed inevitable. This time, I thought it was the Bruins who were lucky to get it to 7 games. The Habs have a complete team, are relatively healthy, and have amazing depth. Anything can happen in the playoffs, but it is much easier to believe in this team.

When you have to wonder how Galchenyuk is going to get in the lineup when he is fit, you know you can play with anyone. Depth and inspiration. The feeling about Price and PK is something special since the playoffs started.

Absolutely…the Habs turtled their way through two rounds in 2010. Halak stood on his head, the defencemen were blocking shots from everywhere and the team was relying on opportunistic goal-scoring.

This year’s team is much more structured. As Rob pointed out, the danger is that the Rangers are built the same way: they have an all-world goaltender, a very structured team, and there is certainly some talent there.

Derek Stepan is very underrated, but he will now get a steady diet of Tomas Plekanec. On the other side, Bryan Boyle shut down Crosby and Giroux, but now he’s got to contend with both Vanek and Pacioretty on the same line, and neither is a centre. I’m actually looking for Desharnais to play a bigger role in this series as I think the Rangers are going to be shadowing his two wingers much more closely.

This series could very well be the passing of the torch. Since the 2004-05 lockout, Henrik Lundqvist has been the King. Other goalies pop up each year, but Lundqvist has been without question the most consistently good goaltender for a decade now.

His regular seasons have been superb, and his playoffs have frequently been even better. His career has been largely wasted by having Glen Sather as a GM.

Price is clearly the heir apparent. He always had the tools, but now he has the maturity and the focus that was occasionally lacking in previous runs. At 26, he is now in his prime and he’s got a team in front of him that can compete. Quick may still have something to say about it, but this will be a compelling series between the pipes.

This team is much better than 2010. 2010 was more of a cinderella run as an 8th seed. Upsetting Washington and Pittsburgh was huge, but we were riding an relatively unknown hot goalie and ran into the tough bangin’ bruising flyers team. In 2010 we had guys like Pouliot, Latendresse, and the Kostitsyn brothers logging big minutes. I think we can all agree that our depth is better now. Not taking anything away from the 2010 team though, they played well, much beyond expectations. Cammalleri was on fire, Gionta was clutch, and honestly I can still say I miss Dominic Moore. Having said that, this 2014 team is much better, and our goalie does not have steal every game for us to win. We also have a better goalie in 2014.

Absolutely different. As many pointed out already, 2010 was hang on for dear life and hope for the best. I can’t remember the last time a Habs team (has to be ’93) that has this much swagger and confidence and can actually back it up.

Let`s be honest 2010 was an incredible run…fueled by a bit of luck ,amazing goaltending and the« you never know »push.

This season the results have nothing to do with that. Much more talented ,better team effort consistency,star players, talent, skills,management. Looks good and feels good when you know that you deserve to be where you are.

Can we finally agree that the officiating can burn either team? It isn’t always the Habs that get a shaft. Bruins fans have a legitimate beef about the officiating last night. The Marchand goaltender intereference call should not have been called, the snow-shower was a pretty ‘interesting’ call in a Game 7, and the Krejci holding the stick penalty absolutely should have been coincidental minors, as Eller was pretty blatantly hooking him prior to that.

Ultimately, none of the penalties really had any bearing on the game. In the first two cases, the ensuing power play actually saw the Bruins gain some confidence and derailed the Habs excellent play.

And I won’t lie and say that I was absolutely glad to see Marchand’s ancient BS act finally get him into trouble. But man…Game 7? That is a pretty odd time for the referees to decide they are going to teach him a lesson.

Second point: the CBC commentators were absolutely calling the game well. What was the focus pre-game? Price’s ridiculous play in elimination games. They were heaping praise on players like Briere, Beaulieu, Markov, Emelin, and Vanek. Pacioretty was getting singled out for praise. And they had unhidden bromances with Subban and Price throughout the series.

I’ve long found the idea that the CBC has an anti-Habs bias a bit ludicrous. Don Cherry certainly does, but that is understandable. PJ Stock also does, but that is because he only has two neurons to rub together and it is consistently amazing to me that somebody with as little insight as he displays has been given a soapbox. Stock was okay when he was the highlight guy…it suited his dumb jock schtick. But now they have him trying to analyze the game and he’s a joke.

Kelly Hrudey, Kevin Weekes, and Elliote Friedman have all given the Habs their due credit. The guests they have brought in this round (Oates and Trotz) were both happy to point out what Montreal was doing well. Simpson was critical of players on both teams, but I would say the Bruins (particularly Rask and Krejci) were certainly getting the majority of his negative analysis, undstandable given that their drop-off in play was a major reason the Bruins are golfing.

It is understandable, but sometimes I find the hyperbole takes over this website a little too much. The Habs get some bad breaks from the officials, and we of course notice every one of these because we are a huge and passionate fan base. But I still haven’t seen any evidence of a bias. The Boston-Montreal series was far cleaner than what I’ve been watching out West….you want thuggery, look no further than the Dallas-Anaheim series. Or the LA-San Jose series, where they were trying to murder one another on the ice. Or the Chicago-St. Louis series.

I despise Lucic and Marchand. The Pacioretty incident has forever tainted Chara, and I could do without some of his antics. Iginla was a bit of an idiot in this series, and I’m not fond of Krug and his faux-bravado. And Julien is simply full of crap.

But for the most part, the Bruins played the Habs honestly and hard. Bergeron was always classy in defeat. Watching Rask in the handshake line, I can’t dislike the guy. He’s a hot-head in games, but at the end of the day he is a good guy. Smith was an excellent find for the Bruins, and he played a good, clean series. Hamilton played the Habs hard. Boychuk is an honest, hard-working player, as is Bartkowski.

Every team has its villains…the Bruins probably have one or two more than most, but they were a good team that has some very classy players. With Seidenberg, McQuaid and Kelly, they are a much tougher team. I’m glad we got them when those guys were down.

That all being said, I am 100% thankful that I don’t have to hear Julien’s hypocritical whining for another year. When you live by the sword, you can also die by the sword. The Bruins penchant for idiocy finally got them on the officials’ radar last night, and they were given no leeway.

I don’t think everyone on this site feels that Habs always get the shaft. And I have seen the snowshower penalty called in the Playoffs before, and there is nothing wrong with that call in Game 7. If the refs knew that Marchand had gotten away with other unsportsmanlike plays, they are well within their rights to make that call. I had no issue with the Max penalty call.

Marchand’s interference call may indeed have been dodgy, but haven’t those calls been dodgy all season? Seemed to me, last night was another typical NHL refereed game where you never know what is going to get called.

Full marks to the Habs for winning, the Bruins have zero right to blame the referees, they lost, and they have players who destroy their chance at having a clean image.

It is up to Chiarelli or Neely to rectify it. If those two choose to do nothing about the antics of Marchand or Lucic, why should I give that organization any respect.

I despise what the Bruins presently represent, just as I despised what the Flyers represented in the mid 70’s. ANd it took the Habs to put an end to their reign back then as well.

I agree that the Bruins have zero right to blame the refs. The penalty calls that I felt were bad were ultimately all irrelevant.

The Bruins lost because the Krejci line couldn’t get it going, Rask wasn’t playing at his usual level, and they simply couldn’t handle the Canadiens’ speed for 7 games.

The way Montreal played Games 6 and 7 reminded me of the Guelph Storm’s playoff run this season. You always hear the announcers talk about how hits pay off in Games 5, 6, and 7. You know what else pays off later? Flat out speed.

A team that plays pedal to the metal all season is used to the pace and can sustain it. Other teams can weather the storm for a couple of games, but it eventually wears them down. When Montreal skates, they give other teams fits.

The best analogy that I can think of in professional sports is the tiki-taka style of Spain’s national soccer team and also exemplified by FC Barcelona at their peak. People watch that and some hate it because they don’t find it exciting. But it is an incredible style that few teams can counter because it just wears you out.

What is often forgotten in that is that you have to be extremely fit to play tiki-taka soccer. No team runs more than Spain’s natioal team did…they would often log 50% (or higher) more kilometers run than their opponents.

It is the same with the Habs. We spend so much time talking about what they aren’t (tough and physical) that we forget what they actually are. When they are skating, the Habs are lethal. Every player comments on it in interviews…the Habs skate you into the ground and that is why they are often a tough out.

Looking at the current roster, Bergevin made the Habs bigger, but he didn’t sacrifice the team’s speed to do it. Weise can fly. So can Pacioretty. Beaulieu, Subban, Desharnais, Bournival, Plekanec, Gionta, Bourque, Eller, and Gallagher are all above average when it comes to speed. Emelin has been improving his speed since mid-season, and he was moving relatively well in this series. Even Vanek, who isn’t a speedster, can turn on his jets once in a while when the opportunity presents itself.

My eyebrows were raised pretty high on that goaltender interference call, but then I laughed…my dad always used to remind me that there is poetic justice in this world when I was raging at officials as a kid (odd duck, that man…I’m a 6 year old raging about a hockey game, and he was teaching me literary devices!).

Chara could have had 5 penalties in the 3rd.. Blatantly held DD’s stick on the PP when DD slipped under his arm.. Would have put the Habs up 5 on 3. The Markov penalty late was a dive.. The B’s got way with far more…

Yes the Habs got a few breaks! but so did Boston. I do not think either team benefited.. Easy to point to the winner…

Wow, great post.
The CBC anti-Habs/pro-Bruins bias is a matter of debate as to how much it really exists; Cherry’s show is “editorial” so he probably can say whatever he wants, and does; the others, though are part of a national network, and must be seen to be unbiased; they often disappoint, but that is through my CH-coloured glasses.
And I like to watch how people behave after a defeat, it says a lot, about them and is often surprising.
Surprises: Chara, Julien; both very gracious in defeat, as were the other players you mentioned. I won’t forgive Chara the MaxPac incident, because he hasn’t owned up to it yet, but watching him speak to the other players and to the press, he does take on less of a shaved-gorilla aspect than usual.

The Pacioretty incident is a sad taint on Chara’s legacy, because he has always been one of the league’s classiest players off the ice. But like you say, it was up to him to own up to it and he didn’t.

I don’t think he meant to hurt Pacioretty, but that was the end result and the lateness of the hit justifiably opened him up to that criticism.

Classiest? You are taking about someone else Chris… He is indeed one of the dirtiest, just look at his punch to Weaver and multitudes of other after whistle Brooins BS. He fits right in as Captain of a team filled with rats, weasels and chicken bullies. That is the shame. He had the height and talent to rise above that, but instead, late in his career, he has succumbed to the BS and was made the goat, fittingly in last nights game.

There are lots of examples of players that were unholy terrors on the ice but very classy off the ice. Chara is one of them. Few people in the league do more charity work than he does, and he has always been quite respectful of his peers in interviews.

Marchand was a clown all night, and while he was taken down, the sliding figure four leg lock was a stretch. he had also been warned early in the game, what i can only assume, to stop diving. he didn’t, so the refs didn’t give him any slack. no different than Gally not drawing any calls in the O zone all year. zebras don’t want to be made fools.

I totally agree about the myth that HNIC has an ant-Hab bias.
People on this site cherry-pick isolated comments during the broadcast and use these to perpetuate this ridiculous argument.
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“You are not T.J. Oshie. Do not shoot pucks at people without a helmet.”.

Sorry, Strummer. I can’t agree. The anti-Habs bias is not a myth. Cherry and now Stock and Ron Moron, er McLean perpetuate this bias week in and week out.
The CBC can go eff itself when it comes to hockey coverage. They are relentless diarrhea.

In a nutshell you have just evoked why I have a problem with the CBC: their hero is a bigot. Having to put up with Stock and Healey also clearly wanting the Habs to fail when they are the last Canadian team left is just icing on the cake.

Seriously, if the Bruins win, do you think Cherry doesn’t show up?

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Me skull and crossbones arn’t the only thing I plan on raisin’ tonight.

I don’t think Cherry is the CBC’s hero. They actually couldn’t get rid of him because he was so wildly popular with the people that the advertisers were targeting. They actually have tried to downplay him in the past, but there has always been loud outcry.

If the Bruins win, I still think they cut out from the game. It was 10 p.m., and the National was due on. It was the first game in a while where they could get back to the regular schedule, and Peter Mansbridge carries more weight with the CBC than Don Cherry.

We already know that Strombo’s team is the Habs. He’d be hiding that fact in a glass cabinet so what’s the point. I think having him show his support would somewhat balance the vast flux of Torrona/Bawston love that is clearly evident in their coverage.

They’re so concerned with Toronto being Canada’s team that they’d rather put down the Habs. I think the imposition of Strombo might be a sign that this is about to change.

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Me skull and crossbones arn’t the only thing I plan on raisin’ tonight.

Totally agree. The CBC bashing on this site is ridiculous.
The conspiricies that refs and nhl are against montreal also drive me nuts.
I think CBC does a great job and i love their broadcasts.
The refs do a good job. Sometimes more calls go against the habs and sometimes more go for the habs(like last night). Overall they do a good job.

Especially when you go to OHL games…you gain so much appreciation for the quality of NHL officials not named Chris Lee when you watch OHL games, where the officiating ranges from atrocious to simply bad.

Agree, i go to a lot of Barrie Colt games. You can see the quality difference there.
Speaking of Colts. Ekblad is gonna be a stud. Watching this kid(who looks more like a man than me) for the last 3 years has been a real treat.

Ekblad is ridiculous…he’s got it all. Great skater, great shot, great offensive production, great positioning, size, physical play, leadership…whoever drafts him could very well be getting a guy of the same quality as Shea Weber, heady praise as I think Weber is the best defenceman in the game.

I agree with most of what you said except Marchand deserved both the penalties you mentioned. The officials have told him something at just about every faceoff. They watched him on ice and the first opportunity he had he was magically tossed into Price. That’s what all D do, drive opponents out of the play into the back of their goalie. The next period the puck was out of play and he snow showers Price. Now if he was a rookie maybe they’d let it go, but he does this stuff every game. The refs have all seen it. They are fed up with it. But if you were guessing you could guess that the NHL fined Thornton for squirting water on Subban’s visor and the refs wouldn’t let Subban go clean the visor, thinking it some delay tactic as Boston complains of. The League fined Thornton. The very next game Boychuk and Thornton laughed and squirted water at Subban on NBC and CBC. Disrespect the Canadiens, well you got no class. Disrespect the League and you don’t get any benefit of the doubt. Without benefit of the doubt Marchand has no game.

I don’t think you call a snow-shower in Game 7 on any other player in the league. I’m all for that Marchand has had that coming for years, but I would have gone nuclear if that call was made on Brendan Gallagher, and it very easily could have been. Marchand did it first, so he got the penalty, but Gallagher and Plekanec particularly love to shower the goalie with snow on stoppages.

I’m not defending Marchand. I thought it was odd timing for him to get his comeuppance, that’s all. He’s had it coming for years. (Remember, I was semi-seriously advocating for him getting a suspension for accumulation of years of BS between whistles after Game 1).

Please don’t take this the wrong way, but the Boston Strong slogan is in reference to a horrific display of what is wrong with some human beings on this planet. I don’t think we should reference it comparing hockey teams. I don’t usually comment on Politically Correct things, I am usually far from politically correct, but that phrase should be left alone I think. Let the Boston people use it as they so wish, but I don’t think we should get into that.

my son played hockey in Boston a week after the bombings, and his team all supported the “Boston Strong” with helmet and stick stickers. we, a Canadian team were the only noticable team to do such. we were treated horribly throughout the tourney, and there was more insults thrown at us than i care to share. that said, our kids supported “Boston Strong” because that’s we do, as Canadians, as hockey players, and the fact that the treatment received was so negative, had no effect on our support of a terrible day.

true hockey players = respect
true hockey fans = respect

i hate everything bruins, but respect is respect, don’t be afraid to be better than them.

I am mostly happy for you guys that never went through this kind of joy ride. I have been a witness of 12 successfull runs for the cup but realized a few years ago that if you are 30 and younger you have no idea what this feeling is. Seeing the young generation joining me in the cheering is soooo nice !

I’m old enough to remember winning every year. It’s just what we did. My Dad and I would go to the Forum, we would win. After the game you’d get Beliveau’s autograph. It’s just what you did. I remember 93, but like many of us, it’s been a long time since I’ve had this feeling.

Good late morning all! Ah, it’s a great day here in NYC! Raining, but still feeling the sun shining brightly! I’ll get to watch the games everywhere, but I’ll be wearing a Canadiens Jersey, in a see of Rangers, but I won’t fear for my life like I would in Beantown where the fans are generally as idiotic, base and rude as some of their players (Lucic the true baby and chicken). It’s a beautiful day HIO’ers and love, love love that meme of Julien whining heads Boone! Spectacular guffaw!

Ugh, I was in the MasterCard presale. Got picked 2 minutes in, all of a sudden I see no tickets available based on your criteria. (2 tix upper bowl) So I keep clicking search tickets, finally get 2 seats in Molson Ex Zone, I hit confirm info and ticket method, and purchase tickets button…..Next screen says “You have released your tickets” FML. What a shitty glitch

Cherry is such an idiot. You know damn well had the Bruins won he would been on after the game talking about how they ‘poked the bear’ I’m right, I’m always right ‘poke the bear’, ‘poke the bear’…
Cherry had no intention of post game comments after a Habs victory, no way he was going to own his comments, but he’s always the first to yell at eveyone how he is right time and time again and you know he would have been right there front and center had the b’s won.
Well Don, your bears got poked, they were poked again and again and again, in places they didn’t want to be poked, with appendages they don’t like to be poked with.
These bruins aren’t big, bad grizzlies or even Suncor black. They’re more like koalas or leaf-eating pandas, they’re the kind that young pre-school girls use for tea parties or in their bedroom decor. Have a nice summer Lucic, Chara, Marchand and Co.

Tried to get tickets during the mastercard presale this morning. Finally got through, only to be told over and over that there were no 2-seat sets available, even though their updated availability guide said there wre. Grr.

Lifelong dream to take in a playoff game in Montreal. Being against my wife’s NYR team is a gift from the heavens. May never come again.

Perhaps someone here may be unable to attend a game and can sell you theirs for near face value. Perhaps just post a few times next few days that if anyone has seats available to let it be known. You never know.

I am waiting to hear back from the Bell Center about tickets for the finals.
When I hear from them I will let you know the price and how many that I will be allowed to obtain.
We are the only group that get group seats before they go to the general public, because of scalping laws and problems.
BE READY TO JUMP IF THEY BECOME AVAILABLE TO US!!
FINALS Summit game tickets, News, Pictures and commentshttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Montreal-Canadiens-We-Are-Fans-Summit/197390760316125

Well I’ll be on standby – the only time I’ve ever been able to buy Montreal Play-off tickets was for the 2011 Eastern Conference finals…..Game 6. I’ve seen the Habs play plenty of times in Buffalo and Toronto, but never in Montreal!

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Rule #76: No Excuses, Play Like a Champion!
@Hstands4Hockey

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves looking towards the final. We should take a similar approach as the players, take it game-by-game.
I’m just enjoying the ride and hoping it lasts as long as it can. I fear if I look ahead too far, I will end up disappointed.

Can’t wait to hear Ian! Tickets are available at the Gahden for roughly $215 in the 200 seats. I may drive up to visit the Bell and family and meet you in person for the first time. This will be great! Been too long since the Habs have a really good opportunity at the cup!

Yup. But that task is pretty daunting against Lundqvist…he’s only given up 3 goals 17 times in his last 46 playoff games.

It can be done, but the Rangers are a pretty stifling defensive team. The Habs cannot in any way take them lightly.

In the past, the Rangers have always crashed out because they’ve been gassed after winning all their series in 7 games while meeting more rested teams. That won’t be the case here, although that 4 game sweep of Tampa Bay is certainly looming larger now. The Habs had a tough series, but that week off was a well-deserved boon.

Nothing. They all feel the same and almost to a player, they have bought into the scum sucking attitude of that organization. A bunch of true bullies who talk smack and when push comes to shove, they run away with their tails between their legs. Hate them, truly, such a shame some stand out guys are on that team, Rask, Bergeron, Soderberg and a few others. Overshadowed by Lucy, Charenstein, the Rat, Shawney et al.

I do not care about what some are saying about the CBC here and they deserve to lose the NHL coverage and weep in their dinosaur den . Cherry, Stock,Healy,Cole say what you want they are all rednecks trying to hide their biais . One more group eating crow ! How sweet !

I am sir ! Thing is that it`s our money and we have the right to say what we think about the way it is spent. Although not a huge patriotic guy i still expect a little respect from my broadcating corporation.

You have to sit Galchenyuk if he’s healthy. Because who do you take replace him with. Bournival-No, Briere-No, Weisse-No, Prust-Maybe then you put galchenyuk with plecks and vanek and have bournival on fourth which is not all that bad. Just look at tampa series.

Habs would be a cinch to win the Cup with Mcdonagh…..ah, the agony.
Haven´t felt this good after beating a team in….well, ever.
We just beat the best team in the league, folks! and we also beat some people who actually hate us and threaten us.

Amazing he hasn’t been layer out. What a piece of Sheeite! Hate that little weasel. PK showed plenty of class patting him on the head in the line-up, just showing who’s boss, even though they played together. Imagine, Marchand (or as he likes to be called in Boston Maachannn) and Lucic are both Canadian. Where did our country go wrong?

A little bounce in my step this morning without a doubt. This is far from over this post season, but was last night’s victory ever sweet. Lucic probably doesn’t deserve the time it takes me to type this…but what a piece of crap he his. To tarnish such an amazing long standing tradition like that is reprehensible. Not at all surprising for a character like him…but still disappointing.

Really amazing how the Habs have OUT everything the Bruins. Even in their little dirty games and wicked mind games. They have been exposed and will have a hard time picking up the pieces and coming back to their old selves. Now they are just trying to get out of the pile of sh…they have dug themselves into and just cannot manage to. Not expecting any of the 28 other teams to come to the rescue !

In order for the Habs to beat the Rangers, they need that same game plan they had against the lightning. If they can excute that, this won’t even be a series. But don’t take the Rangers for granted. There’s a reason why they beat Philly and Pittsburgh.

I’m guessing Don Cherry will blame Weise for breaking his retarded code for neanderthals and not say anything bad about caveman Lucic the same way he said nothing when Thornton sprayed water on PK’s visor while he was skating by him.

There have probably been a hundred players that patted the winner’s shoulder, smiled, and said “We’ll settle this next year.” Only a couple would think that yanking the guy backwards, starring into the cameras, and threatening him would go unobserved. The press couldn’t wait to ask and when Weiss was general they just read Lucic’s lips from the HD video.

The Bruins are a pretty talented team but in this case they brought their squirt bottles and mouths to a hockey game.

Same idiot that whined many years ago because the press gave Orr the ink during a tournament they both played in for Canada. I think it was a Canada cup. That nasal sounding whiner would fit right in doing Bruins games. Surprised CBC didn`t steal him and park him at the table with their little group of Hab haters.